Opinion: Tariffs could save steel, aluminum industries in America

by Boris Epshteyn, Chief Political Analyst

(Sinclair Broadcast Group)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boris Epshteyn formerly served as a Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign and served in the White House as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations.

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) - President Trump announced last week that his administration will be imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imported into our country.

The president is calling for 25 percent tariffs on all imported steel and 10 percent on all imported aluminum.

The announcement by the president is a culmination of an almost year-long process. Last April, the president directed the Department of Commerce to investigate whether the dying of American steel and aluminum industries hurts our national security.

Both the Department of Commerce and Department of Defense concluded that it is vital for national security to protect U.S.-made steel and aluminum.

The statistics are staggering.

For example, in 2000 America was the largest producer of aluminum in the world. Now, we only produce a 1.5 percent of the world’s aluminum. China has 55 percent.

China produces almost as much steel in an average month than the U.S. does in one whole year.

Critics of the tariffs are concerned that prices of goods which use aluminum and steel will go way up. The Trump administration has pushed back, stating that any price increase would be no more than a fraction of one percent. Saving American industries would be well worth that cost.

Here is the bottom line: the tariffs are not in final form yet. It is up to the White House and the agencies to release the full specifics of the new policies. Only then, can the American people and our trade partners around the world fully evaluate what the impact of the new tariffs will be. I do believe the tariffs, if implemented correctly, will go a long way to saving American steel and aluminum.